News
Amazing Urban Trials Video
This is a great video of some Urban Trials riding. The scene towards the end on the bridge is awesome. Fred Crosset urban trial ride 2010 monster energy from dd on Vimeo.
News
General Motorcycle News
Naked-Streetfighters
Aprilia Tuono Project- Part 3
Today we need to do a little bodywork. The tank needs to have the decals removed and the tail needs to have a bunch of bodywork to fix spider cracks in the gel coat and fill the big holes where it would have mounted if it was installed on a Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
Aprilia Tuono Project- Part 2
We spent about an hour laying out colors and deciding what graphics needed to go where. As you can see, the tank was barely damaged. After deciding on colors and scheme, I took pictures with small tape strips on the body work marked with the colors. The bike will be Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
Aprilia Tuono Project
The guy who owns this Ducati 916 (which I painted a couple of years ago) is working on a new project that I am painting for him. The Tuono in question is an 04 that was slightly damaged in a fall but still totaled by the insurance company.
Cruisers
New BMW R 1200 GS Triple Black
From BMW’s press release… I guess everyone is getting in on the Harley 48 look. Honestly, I don’t think the 1200 GS lends itself to this scheme all that well. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Coming Soon… 2011 BMW R 1200 GS Triple Black Woodcliff Lake, Read more…
Cruisers
Ducati Diavel… “evil, like the devil”
Ducati has leaked a teaser photo of their new power cruiser bike and sure enough, I’m teased… I’m thinking that this is a good move for them since the average age of motorcyclists is increasing every year and the people who have the money to buy things like Ducati’s tend Read more…
News
Update on Barber Vintage Festival
Just a quick update and picture from last weekend- The RG and RZ500’s were featured bikes at this years event and the owner of the one I painted last year said that there were over 24 that he counted. That is a lot of 4 cyl, 2 stroke 500’s. Man, Read more…
News
New BMW K 1600 GT and GTL
Press release from BMW… looks like Honda is going to have some serious competition. It will be interesting to see how they are priced. BMW Motorrad at the Intermot 2010. The new BMW K 1600 GT. The new BMW K 1600 GTL. BMW K 1600 GT and BMW K 1600 Read more…
Cruisers
Aprilia RST 1000 Futura
I picked up a 2002 Futura from a local dealer on Saturday and rode it back to the shop. Nice Sport-Tourer but for someone short like me (5’8″) it sits a bit tall and the reach to the handlebars is too long. The natural comparison for me is to the Read more…
Cruisers
Aprilia announces its 2011 750 Shiver
Here is the press release and photo I just got from Aprilia. I personally think that the standard naked bikes are going to continue to gain ground in the market due to their excellent ergonomics and near sportbike performance levels. That, coupled with the fact that the only people in Read more…
News
Barber Vintage Festival- Oct 8-10
The annual Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports park in Birmingham, AL is almost upon us. I go every year to see and report on some of the incredible vintage motorcycles and it really is an awesome event. Check out the official website for the event and make plans to be Read more…
Cruisers
Can Am Project- Part 7
With the clear coat on, we let everything sit and cure for a couple of days before wet sanding and buffing. Some of the parts like the front fender were fine as is but the tank and tail needed to be buffed for that ultra smooth dipped in glass look. Read more…
Dirt
Can Am Project- Part 6
Today we install the graphics and clear coat everything. These are big decals and hard to get on straight but if you take your time and use the wet application method, you can get them on straight with no bubbles. It is always fun to see what the parts look Read more…
Dirt
Can Am Project- Part 5
The next step in the Can Am project was spraying on the white base coat. We spent a fair amount of time getting the shade of white exactly how we wanted it. The white on these old bikes is really more of a cream. You really can’t tell unless you Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
New Bike- Suzuki SV650
Well, not brand new- but maybe better than new since it has a ton of very nice accessories on it and only 2400 miles. I picked it up at the auction last week becasue I really like SV’s and this one is immaculate. Some of the nice extras include Gel Read more…
Dirt
Can Am Project- Part 4
After lots of hand sanding and cleaning, we are ready to prime the parts. I always use an epoxy primer to seal the surface. This works equally well on metal (like the aluminum tank) and fiberglass/plastic. If needed, you can do some light sanding or scuffing with a scotch-brite pad Read more…
Dirt
Can Am Project- Part 3
Next we need to do a little body work and filling. The front nose cone fairing used to have a removable number plate panel that could come off to uncover the headlight if it was installed. Since the bike will never be on the street, we decided to use a Read more…
Dirt
Can Am Project- Part 2
This bike was never used as a dirt bike- it was converted into a cafe racer from day one. So the bodywork reflects that. It is also old and had what seemed like dozens of layers of paint on it that had to be sanded off. Sanding stuff like this Read more…
Dirt
1975 Can Am 250 Project
Just a quick post so you can see the custom made aluminum gas tank. A few days ago, I posted the picture of the old fiberglass tank that was really beyond repair. This new tank is a beautiful reproduction and matches the shape of the old tank nicely. We found Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
Rossi to move to Ducati for 2011
This is not exactly unexpected but it is still good news for the Ducati faithful. What a great season 2011 will be with Rossi and Nicky riding Ducati. I expect that there is rejoicing in the streets all over Italy today! Here is the press release from Rossi’s website- “It Read more…
Dirt
Vintage Can Am Project
Well, the guy I painted the Yamaha RZ500 for was happy enough that he brought me his Vintage 70’s Can Am 250 to work on. He has owned it since new and it has seen many race tracks in its day. Now, we are going to restore it so he Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
The New Aprilia RSV4 ad on YouTube
This is the 3rd and supposedly last of the Aprilia spoof ads. I liked the table cloth ad better, but this one is entertaining as well…
Naked-Streetfighters
New Bike- Kawasaki ZZR600
I picked up a Kawasaki ZZR600 at the auction last Friday and was reminded of what a great bike it is for the money. The current ZZR is the old ZX6R that was retired when the ZX636 and new ZX6R came out a few years back. Of course there are Read more…
Cruisers
Women and Motorcycling
Good video clip from NBC about women and motorcycling. It is cool to see women on all types of bikes these days. They do a good job of describing the “ride”- one said “you are just in the moment” and another said it is a natural way to de-stress. I’ve Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
The New Aprilia RSV4 ad
This is the latest RSV4 ad from Aprilia PR. I personally like the race scenes at the end the best but the ads are very creative. BTW, it is worth noting that Max Biaggi just earned his ninth victory in the 2010 SBK Championship.  With prior dual victories in Salt Read more…
Cruisers
New Ducati Power Cruiser?
I saw this over at Autoblog today, but the rumors of a Ducati Power Cruiser have been around for a while. Let’s face it, that is the money market right now. Older guys who have money are not generally going to buy a Sportbike and the smaller boutique manufacturers like Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
Brand new 1979 Yamaha RD400F
I’m sure there are a lot of other “warehouse finds” out there, but lets face it, this is cool- a new, in the crate, 1979 RD400. It’s not worth millions like some cars would be, but it is still a super rare collectors item. I just wish they would put Read more…
Cruisers
BMW K 1600 GT and GTL 6 Cylinder Touring Models
I think Honda will have some serious competition for its Gold Wing very soon- From BMW press release… BMW K 1600 GT and BMW K 1600 GTL – fascination with six cylinders. Since BMW Motorrad presented the concept study Concept 6 in autumn 2009, the six-cylinder in-line engine featured in it has captured the imagination of many Read more…
News
Aprilia’s Spoof on BMW’s Tablecloth Trick
If you remember a couple of months ago, BMW’s S1000RR tablecloth trick video hit youtube and pretty much went viral. It was a very well done video. Well, Aprilia has answered with a video of their own and it is pretty funny. Watch it in HD if your computer can Read more…
Cruisers
Ducati Monster 796
This is not really new news, but still, it is worth heading over to Ducati’s website to check out their available colors and paint schemes. I’m really partial to the classic black and gold Darmah scheme but it looks terrible on the red frame. That bodywork really need to go Read more…
Cruisers
Victory motorcycles cleaning out old inventory
As you can see from the email ad I received from Victory, they are trying to get rid of old inventory- as in 2008-09 models that are dragging down their dealers. The problem with having lots of old inventory is that unless the manufacturer discounts it heavily in the form Read more…
News
2011 Kawasaki ZX10R?
Maybe… Since most of the Japanese manufacturers brought virtually no 2010 models into the US due to the recession and warehouses full of leftover 2008 and 09, we can only hope that they have been hard at work on some tasty new stuff to battle the likes of BMW and Read more…
Dirt
Ducati at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb
From Ducati- Follow the action on their blog page. Ducati returns to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for an encore performance on June 27. The weapons of choice – a pair of all-new 2010 Multistrada 1200s! Partnering with Spider Grips, Ducati is fielding a two bike team, piloted by Read more…
News
ZZR600 finished
Just finished a 2007 ZZR600 that had some cosmetic damage. I painted the entire bike so that all the panels would have perfect color match. Details are on the Showroom page. If you are interested, email me off of the contact page.
Cruisers
Harley XR1200X is coming (staying) in America!
Harley-Davidson announced that the XR1200X Sportster, introduced in 2010 for export markets only, will be available through Harley-Davidson dealers in the United States as a 2011 model. The XR1200X is equipped with fully-adjustable Showa front and rear suspension components and can be dialed in to match rider weight, riding style Read more…
Naked-Streetfighters
A nice little stunt to end the day…
I’m not into the stunt riding stuff that much, but I have to admit that this is a great trick… Watch!
Cruisers
Arai highest ranked motorcycle helmets for 12th straight year
Just some light weekend reading for you… Here is a press release from JD Powers on motorcycle helmet owner satisfaction. I personally have both an Arai and a Shoei and while they are both great helmets, I prefer the Shoei for fit and comfort. But I have friends that swear Read more…
Cruisers
Harley Davidson Commercial
OK, this is a bit harsh since Harley really has updated their bikes with things like Showa suspension and Nippon Denso electronics (both Japanese, BTW) but, still funny.
Naked-Streetfighters
Honda SL 350 restoration completed
Almost that is… As you can see from the picture, he is still waiting on some parts for the seat. But everything else is done and the bike runs great. I included a before/after picture of the front fender so you can get an idea of where we started. The Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500- Finished!
Here are a few pictures of the finished bike- I’ve included a picture of the bike in the Yamaha Museum for reference. As I mentioned in other posts, almost every one of the factory bikes was different. Some had different bodywork, some had slightly different paint schemes and the wheels Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500 Project- Part 14
Today, I did the final buffing and polishing on the paint. Really, the quality of the finished product will depend on how much time and effort you put into the detail stuff like wet sanding and buffing. When you have different colors painted under the clear, wet sanding the edges Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500 Project- Part 13
Well, today we are finishing some of the detail stuff- we wanted street legal turn signals that didn’t stick out obtrusively so I went with some small button style flush mount clear lens units. They actually look really good mounted next to the taillight and they are not noticeable except Read more…
Dirt
Honda SL 350 restoration update
The SL 350 is progressing along nicely and the wheels and tank are on the bike now. Next up is firing it up. Jerry is sending me updates from NC so I’ll keep this refreshed as soon as he makes any more progress. He told me yesterday that getting it Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500 Project- Part 12
The clear coat is on and drying. 3 coats of high solids clear will give it a depth after it is wet sanded and buffed out. I’ll let it dry a couple more days before reassembling it. There are some other detail things that I need to do anyways- the Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500 Project-Part 11
All of the graphics are on and all of the touch-ups are done on the color base coats. The blue turned out to be just about perfect- we were trying to pick a shade from a bunch of internet photos and every one of them looked different but this shade Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500 Project- Part 10
After lots of taping and masking, I sprayed the blue base coat on for the stripes. One thing I found is that while there are all sorts of 1/4 and 1/2 in masking tapes available, there is no 3/8 in… at least not that I could find. So I had Read more…
News
Special RSV4 Training for Aprilia Dealers- and Customers
From Aprilia’s press release- NEW YORK – May 4, 2010 – Aprilia USA, the North American importer and distributor of award-winning motorcycles, announces the Ride Like a Champion tour, an education and training program for Aprilia dealers, just in time for the 2010 riding season. Aprilia dealers, who received product Read more…
News
Yamaha RZ500 Project- Part 9
Well, the bike is taped off to paint the blue stripes and you can start to see the final design coming together. We still haven’t decided if we want to paint the large red number plates on the lowers like the factory bike. It might be a bit much. I’ll Read more…
News
When was the last time you rode a Kawasaki KH500 triple?
Actually, just this past weekend, thank-you. I went up to visit my friend Jerry in NC and one of the things we wanted to do was take all of the bikes in his collection that run on a short ride. We got through about half of them. They were all Read more…